Photos of Charles Manson, His 'Family' and His Crimes ~ Vintage Everyday

Charles Manson was an American cult leader whose followers carried out several notorious murders in the late 1960s, resulting in his life imprisonment.

Manson and members of his “family” of followers were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in the Los Angeles area in August 1969. Prosecutors said Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war he dubbed “Helter Skelter,” taken from the Beatles song of the same name.

Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she was killed at her hilltop home in Benedict Canyon on Aug. 9, 1969.

Four others were stabbed and shot to death the same night: Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; Abigail Folger, 25, a coffee heiress; and Steven Parent, 18, a friend of Tate's caretaker. The word “pig” was written on the front door in blood.

The next night, Manson rode with his followers to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, then left three members to kill the couple.

Manson, who ordered the Tate-LaBianca killings but was not present for any of them, was found guilty of murder and initially was sentenced to death. But a 1972 ruling by the California Supreme Court found the state’s death penalty law at the time unconstitutional, and his sentence was changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Four young female members of the Charles Manson "family" kneel outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice on March 29, 1971, with their heads shaved. The women kept a vigil at the building throughout the long trial in which Manson and three others were convicted of murdering actress Sharon Tate and six others. (Wally Fong / Associated Press)

Nancy Pitman (a.k.a Brenda McCann), Sandra Good, Catherine Gillies, and Mary (Mary Theresa Brunner) dubbed “the girls on the corner.” They shaved their heads along with Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten following the guilty verdicts, telling reporters, “You’d better watch your children because Judgment Day is coming!” (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)

Kathryn “Kitty” Lutesinger, a Charles Manson “Family” member, on Temple Street during Manson’s trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders. (Sue Terry/LA Public Library)

Members of Charles Manson’s “family” (L-R Sandra Good, Nancy “Brenda McCann” Pitman, and Kitty Lutesinger) hold vigil outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice, embroidering a vest for the leader who is on trial for murder on January 24, 1971. (David F. Smith / Associated Press)

Manson family members seen outside of Grand Jury Room 548, 1971. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)

Manson Family members in the courtroom, 1970. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angles Public Library)

Manson cult members receive the news that Charles Manson and his three female co-defendants had been found guilty of murder, January 26, 1971. (George Brich / Associated Press)

From left: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten are shown en route to court in Los Angeles in August 1970. The three women, displaying the symbol X on their foreheads as followers of the Manson cult family, were convicted for killings that included actress Sharon Tate. (Associated Press)

Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case, 1969, Los Angeles, Calif. (Associated Press)

Charles Manson walks into the courtroom in Santa Monica on Oct. 13, 1970. Susan Atkins, seated, a member of Manson's "family" of followers, pleaded guilty to charges of murdering Malibu musician Gary Hinman. (Associated Press)

Members of Charles Manson's "family" are shown outside the courtroom in the Los Angeles Hall of Justice after a hearing on Jan. 27, 1970. Identifiable are Lynette Fromme, foreground left, and Catherine "Gypsy" Share, far right. (David F. Smith / Associated Press)

When asked by a newsman, "Are you insane, Charlie?" during a March 19, 1970, interview in Los Angeles, Manson answered: "It all depends on your point of view." (George Brich / Associated Press)

The 500-acre Spahn Movie Ranch in the Santa Susana Mountains is where Charles Manson and his "family" lived at the time of the Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969. (Associated Press)

The body of actress Sharon Tate is taken from her Benedict Canyon estate where she and four other people were killed the night of Aug. 9, 1969, in Los Angeles. (Associated Press)

Manson Family members outside a courtroom during the Tate-LaBianca murder trial, 1970. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angles Public Library)

Charles Manson “Family” members, Kathryn “Kitty” Lutesinger, left, and Nancy Pitman (a.k.a Brenda McCann), on Temple Street during Manson’s trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders, 1970. (Sue Terry/Los Angeles Public Library)